Baz Luhrmann's Use Of Film Techniques In The Great Gatsby

The film, “The Great Gatsby”, is a movie, that uses things such as lighting and colours to show the theme that the director Baz Luhrmann. Luhrmann creates an overdramatised setting as he shows bright colours everywhere. The scene that I am using is the scene where daisy and Gatsby meet at Nick's house, and they talk for the first time in 5 years. The purpose of this scene is to show the power of love, and the willingness of Gatsby to win over daisy again. He uses a range of techniques to
show this such as Mood, Props, Lighting, and Symbolism.

Luhrmann uses mood to show that Gatsby is eager to talk to daisy, and the other way round by the actions that Gatsby and daisy do. This is shown as Gatsby leaves the house just as daisy arrives, and

he runs into the run before knocking onto the door and coming back in. This is because he fears what she will think to see her again. He is trying to get away because he does not want her to hate him he doesn’t even want to see her. However, he does, making the whole situation extremely awkward when he finally arrives. In addition, when they do meet, nick starts to make tea. During this time, no one but nick is talking, yet you can tell that both Gatsby and daisy are eager to talk to each other as they are fidgeting or they are looking around. Eventually, Gatsby tips over nick clock off of the mantelpiece. He quickly dives down for t and tries to fix it. Luhrmann also uses some Dialogue to show the awkwardness of the situation. After Gatsby fixes the clock daisy says sharply “we haven’t met for a long time” and Gatsby quickly replies saying “5 years next November”. He says it this way, as he doesn’t know what to say, so when he finds something to say, he jumps for it. This even makes the audience feel awkward as we see the position that both of them are in and it makes us sort of feel sorry for them. We want them to talk but they are too scared to say anything. With the way that they reply is clear to us viewers that they want to talk but can’t. When nick says he is going into town, Gatsby rushes towards Nick and says that the whole idea of daisy and him reuniting, however, nick says that daisy is just as embarrassed as he is, and that Gatsby should stop being a little boy. This makes Gatsby give it a second chance and thus, while Nick is outside, Daisy and Gatsby start talking. When nick gets back, he finds them whispering to each other and smiling at each other. When nick tries to get their attention, they ignore him and continue talking as they are trapped in each other’s eyes. This shows us that even with the perfect lifestyle most would assume that Gatsby has, he still has issues with somethings.

Luhrmann also uses Props to show how much Gatsby wants to impress daisy, and how much he is trying to woo her over.

He uses a range of props, such as loads of large white flowers, a nice polished looking tea set, some cute little cakes, and biscuits. The reason Luhrmann does this is to show that Gatsby wants to make daisy feel special and to impress her, and to make daisy fall for him again. He uses flowers as a way of showing romance, and it lets off a sort of welcoming feeling when daisy walks in the room. The tea set is for drinking tea, which would make the mood of the situation slightly less awkward. The uses of pricey looking decorations and fancy sets, shows just how much Gatsby wants to impress daisy and just how much he is willing to give to be able to have a chance to win her over. Luhrmann also intertwines props with costumes to show that Gatsby wants to have daisy. He is wearing a nice, white, tidy suit, with a somewhat black looking coloured pocket piece, and an orange coloured tie, showing that he is a very rich man and he has a cane with him, perhaps to make him seem like more of a gentleman. Likewise, daisy is also wearing very expensive clothing. She is wearing a light purple dress and purple gloves with a very delicate looking hat when she arrives. She is wearing purple as she is next to royalty as her family has been rich or a long time and she is trying to appear very wealth, as she likes to show her wealth to others. The choices of outfits show that they

wish to impress, and thus, when they meet, they are pleasantly surprised to see each other. This makes us feel very happy that they reunited, and that they are able to be happy with each other. The same situation can be said about today, and how much people through to someone to try to win over there heart of the one they want. Gatsby shows how much that people will put on the line for one person.

Luhrmann also uses lighting to show the mood of the situation and how the mood of the place.

Inside, it is very bright and a lot of bright area around Gatsby and daisy, yet outside it in raining and it makes them seem like they are trying to escape the possible disasters that are soon to come. Eventually, the rain stops and then the sun comes out, illuminating outside. They then look over at Daisy’s house across the bay. The light may then be coming through as is allowing them to see all the good
about the situation. Luhrmann also uses colour to help show the situation. There aren’t very many colours, mainly just white. An innocence is trying to be shown too much and maybe that the over usage of white could show that Gatsby is trying too hard to seem like a good guy that he forgot that it’s not all about the money. He has been around money and only money for so long he has forgotten that money is not the only thing you need or what others need. The white can also be seen as

Gatsby
trying to make daisy feel welcome and to make her see that he is still in love with her. The fact that daisy is wearing purple can mean that see considers herself royalty, and that she is very important. This can also be shown by the way that she acts. She makes sure everyone knows her feelings about Gatsby, because when Gatsby finally gets the clock on the mantelpiece fixed, she says how they have not spoken in many years, before anyone else says anything. This means she feels like no one else will say anything so to her, she thinks that she must have to be the one to bring up the absence of Gatsby over the years. This makes us feel awkward, and makes us feel like Gatsby is eager to say something, as he appears to be restless in the seat. Even with all of the bright lights and calming colours, he still thinks that the situation is too awkward/embarrassing. Nowadays, connecting with people seems to be much easier as people are more diverse, so people give everyone the same chance, however, back then, if a rich person did not like you, they will not, and will never like you from that point onwards.

Finally, Luhrmann uses an establishing shot to show the setting and to show where they are. After Nick stands outside for some time, thinking about his summer and the secrets he is hiding from them, he comes in and finds both Gatsby and daisy quietly whispering to each other. Nick then interrupts them and say that it is no longer raining, and they walk out to the balcony to see that from nicks balcony, that you can see daisy’s house from cross the bay. This gives us a very good view of the lake that separates Gatsby and daisy. The light shining off the water makes the view seem very inviting and captivates the idea of a path to where Gatsby wishes to be, with Daisy. Gatsby then tells daisy that he has the same view from his house, and this shows us that he looks across the bay often as he knows what it looks like. Throughput the movie we find that he constantly reaches out to the green light at the end of daisy’s dock. Lurhmann also uses a two show of daisy and Gatsby when they have their hands touch on the back of the pillar on Nick's balcony. The shot shows the look in their eyes as they touch, and the gentleness of the touch shows that when their hands meet, they get embarrassed, and that they do not know what to say. The white pillar may symbolise what could be the wall and time that separates them and now they have connected again, but not fully. Daisy takes a sharp breath whilst they touch, showing the surprise of the meeting of their hands.

In conclusion, Luhrmann uses a range of techniques and shots to show that Gatsby wants to win over daisy once again. In addition, it becomes apparent they have wanted to meet backup for a long time and now that they finally have, daisy is full of want, and she is so happy to have reunited, and Gatsby is trying to do anything in his power to show that he wants her back.